Barry Owen Jones, (born 11 October 1932), is an Australian

polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...

, writer, teacher, lawyer, social activist, quiz champion and former politician. He campaigned against the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

throughout the 1960s, particularly against the execution of Ronald Ryan. He is on the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

's list of Australian Living Treasures. Barry Jones in 2000

Early life

Barry Jones was born in

Geelong Geelong ( ) ( Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the south eastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon ...

, Victoria, and educated at Melbourne High School and the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb ...

, where he studied arts and law. He began his career as a schoolteacher at Dandenong High School, where he taught for nine years, before becoming a household name as an Australian quiz champion in the 1960s on Bob Dyer's ''

Pick a Box ''Pick a Box'' was an Australian game shows that first aired on radio in 1948 until the early 1960s; subsequently, the concept transferred to TV and was broadcast from 1957 and 1971. The program was hosted by the husband and wife duo Bob and Do ...

'', a radio show from 1948, televised from 1957. He was known for taking issue with Dyer about certain expected answers, most famously in response to a question about "the first British

Governor-General of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...

", where he pointed out that

Warren Hastings Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first Governor-General ...

was technically only the Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William in

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia an ...

. Jones' appearances on ''Pick a Box'' lasted from 1960 to 1968. Jones tried his hand at broadcasting on Melbourne radio and in 1967 was one of the pioneers of

talkback radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

, working at 3DB in Melbourne. His show ''Talkback to Barry Jones'' and Mike Walsh's show on Sydney's 2SM were Australia's first talkback shows., ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', 23 April 2007 Jones believes that modern talkback shows have a much narrower focus than the original shows. He says "I was trying to convey to people a sense of what they didn't know rather than simply talk about football or pets. My emphasis was on using talkback as an instrument for exposing people to new ideas and challenging them, rather than just reinforcing the ideas they already held." Jones was a panelist on 3DB's popular program, ''

Information Please ''Information Please'' is an American radio quiz show, created by Dan Golenpaul, which aired on NBC from May 17, 1938, to April 22, 1951. The title was the contemporary phrase used to request from telephone operators what was then called "inf ...

''.

Arts

In June 1968, Jones was appointed as an inaugural member of the

Australian Council for the Arts The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...

. He was a member until 1973, serving as deputy chair under Dr H. C. (‘Nugget’) Coombs from 1971. With his friend Phillip Adams, Jones played a significant role in reviving the Australian feature film industry, served on the Australian Film Development Corporation 1970–75, was foundation chair of the Film and Television School 1973–75, chaired the Australian Film Institute 1974-80 and received the Longford Lyell Award for lifetime achievement in 1986. On 31 October 2008, Jones was appointed to serve on the board of the

Victorian Opera Victorian Opera is an opera company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company was founded in 2005 by the Victorian Government as a replacement for the Victoria State Opera. It commenced operations in January 2006 with Richard Gill as ...

. He retired in 2015. He is a strong supporter of the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), the Australian String Quartet and the Flinders Quartet.

''Sleepers, Wake!''

Jones’ ''Sleepers, Wake!: Technology and the Future of Work'' (1982), published by Oxford University Press, went through four editions and 26 impressions, sold 80,000 copies in Australia and was translated into Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Swedish and Braille. Bill Gates read it; and Deng Xiaoping's daughters Deng Rong (in 1988) and Deng Nan (in 1994) told Jones the book had influenced their father’s thinking. It was also significant in Korea, Canada and Ireland. It canvassed the future implications of the information revolution in creating a post-industrial society, and growth of "the Third Age". In 1982 in a speech in Hobart he predicted that by the year 2000 there would be more computers than cars in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. The scepticism provoked by the claim was highlighted by former prime minister

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...

as an example of a lack of imagination about the future. Due to ''Sleepers, Wake!'', in October 1985 he became the only Australian Minister ever invited to address a G-7 Summit Meeting, held in Meech Lake, Canada.

Political career

A member of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...

(ALP) from 1950, Jones was a Federal candidate in

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijiangs ...

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

and

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

, with a strong interest in education and

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties ma ...

. Jones's political career began in the Victorian Parliament where he represented the electorate of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

as a Labor

Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...

(MLA) from 1972 to 1977, when he resigned to go into federal politics. The year before his transfer to federal politics, Jones had unsuccessfully challenged state leader Clyde Holding. Holding too resigned from state politics to go into federal politics in 1977 and both he and Jones would serve as ministers under Bob Hawke. In

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

, he was elected to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

as the Labor member for the Federal seat of

Lalor Lalor is an Irish surname derived from the Irish ''Ó Leathlobhair'', from ''leath-'' “leper; weak, ailing person”. Notable people with the surname include: * Denis Lalor, athlete * Francis Ramsey Lalor (1856–1929), politician * John Lalo ...

in Victoria, which he held until his retirement in 1998. He was Minister for Science in the Hawke government from 1983 to 1990, in which role he ensured the preservation of the

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency responsible for scientific research. CSIRO works with leading organisations around the world. From its headquarters in Canberra, CSIRO ...

, and set up the Australia Prize,

Questacon Questacon – The National Science and Technology Centre is an interactive science communication facility in Canberra, Australia. It is a museum with more than 200 interactive exhibits relating to science and technology. It has many science ...

and the Commission for the Future. He was also Minister for Small Business 1987-90 and for Customs 1988–90. In the 1990 election, the ALP lost ten seats in Victoria, the centre-left faction was forced to give up two ministries and Jones lost his place in the ministry. In 1992, upon the resignation of Stephen Loosley, elected unopposed following a split vote at National Conference in 1991, he was elected National President of the ALP, serving until 2000. He became National President again in 2005–06. Jones was the chief architect of the ALP's Knowledge Nation education concept, as chair of the

Chifley Research Centre The Chifley Research Centre is the Australian Labor Party’s official think tank. Objectives & Activities Aims Its stated aim is to "the advancement of public policy debate and progressive thinking in Australia." The Centre promotes policy ...

's Knowledge Nation Taskforce. During this time he was also a member of the Council of the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "maint ...

. In 1987 he chaired the OECD Review of the (then) Yugoslavian economy, in Dubrovnik. Jones took part in an international think tank to advise Mikhail Gorbachev on Perestroika, Moscow (June) 1990 He was the Vice-President of the

World Heritage Committee The World Heritage Committee selects the sites to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance ...

from 1995 to 1996 and a member of the Executive Board of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

in Paris from 1991 until 1995, succeeding Gough Whitlam in both roles. Jones and

Ian Sinclair Ian McCahon Sinclair (born 10 June 1929) is a former Australian politician who served as leader of the National Party from 1984 to 1989. He was a government minister under six prime ministers, and later Speaker of the House of Representative ...

served as co-chairs of the 1998 Constitutional Convention on an Australian republic.

Academic career

Jones attended the selective Melbourne High School in South Yarra before continuing to the University of Melbourne where he graduated with

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

and

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degrees. Jones holds a

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...

from the

University of Technology Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Although its origins are said to trace back to the 1830s, the university was founded in its current form in 1988. As of 2021 ...

and honorary degrees from

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...

Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

from

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a public research university based in Sydney, Australia, in the suburb of Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of ...

and

Doctor of Law A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL ...

s from the University of Melbourne, and doctorates from Griffith and Deakin Universities. In 1999 he was appointed an adjunct professor at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has ...

and became a Vice-Chancellor's Fellow at the University of Melbourne in 2005–07, and a Professorial Fellow 2007- . He is a Fellow of the

Australian Academy of Science The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soc ...

(FAA); a Fellow of the

Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australia ...

(FAHA); a Fellow of the

Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) is an independent, non-governmental organisation devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences. It has its origins in the Social Science Research Council of Austr ...

(FASSA); and a Fellow of the

Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) is a learned academy that helps Australians understand and use technology to solve complex problems. It was founded in 1975 as one of Australia's then four learned academies (now five) ...

(FTSE): he was the first (and so far the only) person elected Fellow of four of the five Australian learned academies. In 1999 he was elected a Visiting Fellow Commoner at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

. He is also a Fellow of the Australian College of Educators (FACE), a Fellow of the Royal Society of Victoria (FRSV), and a Distinguished Fellow of the

Royal Society of New South Wales The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. The Governor of New South Wales is the vice-regal patron of the Society. The Society was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June 1 ...

(DistFRSN). A species of fossil marsupial, '' Yalkaparidon jonesi'', was named after him.

Later life

Jones chaired the Victorian Schools Innovation Commission from 2001 until 2005., The University of Melbourne He chaired the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority from 2000 to 2004, and 2005 to 2012 and served on the boards of several medical research institutes. Jones was the founding Chair of the Advisory Board to In2science, a peer mentoring program that builds enthusiasm of Victorian secondary school students for science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). He chaired Vision2020Australia, the peak eye-health advocacy body, 2002–14. He appeared regularly as a member of the Brains Trust on the television quiz show '' The Einstein Factor''. He mentioned on an episode of the show that he likes to watch his Wikipedia page grow. On 9 April 2010, the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr, announced the formation of the Book Industry Strategy Group (BISG) with Jones as chair. The group submitted its report in September 2011. Barry Jones Bay in the Australian Antarctic Territory and '' Yalkaparidon jonesi'', an extinct

marsupial Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in ...

, were named after him. He is the owner of the largest private

autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Inter ...

collection in Australia., –

Parliament of Victoria The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria that follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the King, represented by the Governor of Victoria, the Legislative Assembly an ...

The State Library of Victoria acquired part of the collection in 2020.

Stance against capital punishment

Jones has maintained a long-standing public profile as an outspoken opponent of capital punishment. He led the successful Victorian campaign to prevent the hanging of Robert Tait in 1962 but failed with Ronald Ryan in 1967.

On euthanasia

Jones's stated position on

voluntary euthanasia Voluntary euthanasia (VE) is the ending of a person's life at their request in order to relieve them of suffering. Voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS) have been the focus of intense debate in recent years. Some forms of ...

in the past has been inconclusive but in the Australian parliament he spoke against specific elements in the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995 enabling laws in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

. He has noted that popular support is not of itself a compelling reason for its adoption. In the same frequently cited speech from 1996 he noted that "No other issue has troubled me so much because I am not sure that I am correct".

On climate change

Jones was an early advocate for action on climate change, first advocating for his cabinet colleagues to support action in 1984. In 2022, Jones was named as an advisor to the fundraising group Climate 200.

Writings

Jones has been a prolific author of political and sociological books, including: *''Decades of Decision 1860– : A Compendium of Modern History'', Sydney: Horwitz, 1965; London, Horwitz, 1965. *''The Penalty is Death: Capital Punishment in the Twentieth Century, Retentionist and Abolitionist Arguments with Special Reference to Australia'', Barry Jones, comp., Melbourne : Sun Books in association with the Anti-Hanging Council of Victoria, 1968. *''

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

: Enlightenment in Politics'', West Melbourne : Victorian Historical Association, ca. 1960–69. *''Age of Apocalypse: Compendium of History 1860 to the Present Day'' (also titled: ''Barry Jones' Guide to Modern History: Age of Apocalypse''), South Melbourne: Macmillan Company of Australia, 1975. *''The Macmillan Dictionary of Biography'', edited by Barry Jones and M. V. Dixon, London: Macmillan; Adelaide: Mary Martin, 1981; South Melbourne: Macmillan, Papermac series, revised and updated edition, 1986; South Melbourne : Macmillan, 3rd edition, 1989. *'' Sleepers, Wake! Technology and the Future of Work'', Brighton: Wheatsheaf Books, 1982; Melbourne : Oxford University Press, 1982, 1983; revised and enlarged edition, 1995. *''Dictionary of World Biography'', Melbourne: Information Australia, 1994; 2nd edition, 1996. *''A Thinking Reed'', Crows Nest, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin, 2006. Autobiography. * 'Coming to the Party', Barry Jones, ed., Melbourne, Melbourne University Press, 2006 *''Dictionary of World Biography'', Canberra: Acton, ACT: ANU Press, 2013; 7th ed., 2020. Also published by ANU E Press in digital editions. *''Dictionary of World Biography'', Melbourne: Wilkinson Publishing, 2016. *''The Shock of Recognition: The Books and Music that have Inspired Me'', Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 2016; Strawberry Hills, N.S.W.: *''Knowledge Courage Leadership'', Melbourne: Wilkinson Publishing, 2016. *''Looking into the Abyss:

Trump Trump most commonly refers to: * Donald Trump (born 1946), 45th president of the United States (2017–2021) * Trump (card games), any playing card given an ad-hoc high rank Trump may also refer to: Businesses and organizations * Donald J. T ...

, Australia & Beyond: Understanding the Age of Trump'', Melbourne: Wilkinson Publishing, 2018. *''What Is To Be Done. Political Engagement and Saving the Planet'', Melbourne: Scribe, 2020

References

External links

Brisbane Institute page on Barry JonesAntarctic Gazetteer entry for Barry Jones BaySlowTV , Catherine Deveny in conversation with Barry Jones
*Listen to an excerpt of ''

'', featuring Barry Jones
here
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Barry Owen 1932 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Lalor Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Lawyers from Melbourne Australian republicans Politicians from Geelong Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities Companions of the Order of Australia Contestants on Australian game shows Douglas Wilkie Medal winners People educated at Melbourne High School Melbourne Law School alumni Australian schoolteachers Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria 20th-century Australian politicians Government ministers of Australia Australian memoirists